Verily, verily, I say unto you … are words spoken only by Jesus in the New Testament. The use of this iconic joining of two adverbs at the beginning of a statement is recorded only in the gospel of John—and it is so written in 25 different verses.
The Word of God, like many of the bridges we cross, has a complex, invisible structure. That which upholds bridges is not understood by those of us who are not engineers. However, even though we do not understand the complex structures of bridges, we don’t try to change what we do not understand. Instead, we, by faith, drive across them. There are even some bridges, such as that shown in the image above that we admire because of their complexity and the beauty of their design.
The sculptured hands which form an important part of the Golden Bridge in DeNang, Vietnam, reminds me of the invisible “Hands of God” which have created the unseen, intricate structure that underlies our Bible. Every word in the Bible has been carefully designed and equidistantly placed. Every word has also been weighed for its purity and doctrinal accuracy. God confirms this in Psalm 12:6-7: The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. Thou shalt keep them, O LORD, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Our Bible, written over thousands of years by some 40 men from different locations in the world has supernatural consistency and harmony because, as recorded in Psalm 12, the Bible is the preserved words of the LORD.
Is it man-made or God-inspired?
However, unlike man-made bridges, the Bible was not designed by the will of man. The apostle Peter reminds us that the creation of our Bible was supernaturally designed and directed outside the dimension of time; that is, by the Holy Ghost. Peter writes: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. 2 Peter 1:20-21
Thus, what we have in the Bible is a supernatural collection of writings directed from outside our universe but recorded through men chosen by God as they heard from the Holy Ghost. It was through the mouths and pens of men like Moses, David, Isaiah, John, and Paul who physically recorded the words; however, the words were those which the Holy Ghost spake to them. No one today is commissioned by God to rewrite God’s words. Man is to study and obey the Scriptures, not to become an engineer to redesign its content or “structure.”
So why, “Verily, verily …”?
How does all this relate to John’s writings and he being the only one to record Verily, verily, I say unto you …? It’s an anomaly, the mystery of which is known only by our God. However, there are some things that can be determined. For example, it is the same underlying Greek word άμην from which verily, verily is translated as well as the transliterated word Amen.
Context is a major key.
There is a major difference in how the Greek word άμην is recorded in our English Bible: verily or Amen. This is because of the context. Context includes the Scriptures which surround a word. Additionally, related verses throughout the Old and New Testaments give information for which words are used to translate words from the underlying Hebrew and Greek texts into the native language.
Here’s what an examination of the Scriptures will show. Amen is placed at the end of a teaching, prayer, or proclamation. It affirms or shows agreement. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22:20 You may have heard people in a church service respond to something a pastor says with, “Amen.”
Conversely, Verily, verily is always placed at or near the beginning of a message or statement. These duplicated words as such are only spoken by Jesus and are only recorded in the gospel of John. There is a Biblical principle that when something is repeated identically, there is a message—almost a command—that also says, “Pay very close attention.” Even so, every word in the Bible is important.
There are idiosyncrasies in John’s gospel.
Verily, verily is recorded 25 times in 25 verses and only in John’s gospel. Like an interjection (a word or phrase used to express a strong feeling or to request or demand something), the doubled word verily appears to be a grammatical alert that what follows is very important.
When verily, verily is a part of the text, the words I say unto you/thee are always included.
Another notable fact is that Jesus calls Himself the Amen and is referred to as the Amen in another book, Revelation. Revelation is also penned by the Apostle John.
Study the following: … These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. Revelation 3:14 This clearly is Jesus Christ. Jesus is also making statements of His deity—that He is God—the faithful, the true witness, and the beginning of the creation; yet, Jesus had no beginning.
The Apostle John’s focus was to give us special insight into the deity of Jesus Christ.
John taught that Jesus was fully man and fully God. Not only this, but John connects the gospel of John with the first and last books of the Bible. 
With the statement, In the beginning … John identifies that God is Jesus Christ when he also writes: … and the Word was God. That is, He was God manifest in the flesh as also confirmed by Paul in First Timothy 3:16. Thus begins the Apostle John’s focus on the deity of Jesus in John 1:1 and continuing: And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. John 1:14
John also wrote why he was called to pen the words recorded in the gospel of John: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name. John 20:31
Jesus affirmed Who He was: Deity.
The Jews wanted to kill Jesus, not merely because of His affirmation to be the Messiah, or a prophet, but because they believed He made a “blasphemous” claim to deity: to be God. They understood that Jesus was attesting to being Someone unique: the only begotten Son of the Father Who came from heaven; Who was the LORD, the eternal Creator, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They knew Jesus was saying He was God. It was because of such statements that the Jewish religious leaders led the way to persecute Jesus and send Him to the cross to be crucified.
It was also John who recorded statements showing the anger of the Jews because of Jesus stating Who He was: the only begotten Son of God: God manifest in the flesh. It angered the religious leaders so much that they … took up stones again to stone him when Jesus said, I and my Father are one. John 10:30-31 And again, in John 8:58-59, John recorded: Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him …
Many, even today, likewise, deny that Jesus is deity—that He is Who He said He was—God manifest in the flesh—such statements for which the Jewish religious leaders crucified Him.
Not only did the Apostle John record in Revelation 1:8 the statement of Jesus: I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending … but he recorded Jesus giving this same statement three more times in the book of Revelation (Revelation 1:11, 21:6, and 22:13). This is Jesus Christ representing the mysterious union of God and man in one Person.
Don’t miss the six specific proofs in First Timothy 3:16 also confirming Who Jesus was: God manifest in the flesh. These additional proofs of the oneness of Jesus and God, are preempted by the strong introductory phrase: “And without controversy”: 1manifest in the flesh; 2justified in the Spirit, 3seen of angels, 4preached unto the Gentiles; 5believed on in the world; 6received up into glory.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you … my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. … And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life … John 6:32-35
How does the Apostle end the gospel? It is with the word Amen and that is the only time the word Amen is recorded in the gospel of John. The other 50 times the word for Amen is recorded in the underlying Greek text, it is translated as verily.
The Amen speaks throughout the Bible.
The Amen speaks throughout the Bible, but the kaleidoscope of His deity is uniquely brought to light through this disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23, 19:26), who was the only named, male disciple present at the crucifixion. It was to John to whom Jesus gave charge over His mother: … he [Jesus] saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son [John]! Then saith he to the disciple [John], behold thy mother! John 19:26-27 It was John …Who bare record of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Revelation 1:2
… These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God. Revelation 3:14.
Again, this was penned from the same author as the gospel of John and provides numerous proofs of the deity of Jesus Christ … the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he [Jesus] hath declared [revealed/made known] him. John 1:18
Jesus was the mysterious union of God and man in one Person: … the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us … John 1:14 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. John 6:47 Can you say in agreement with the Apostle John, “Amen. Even so, come, LORD Jesus”?
If you have questions or would like prayer, please contact us. We are blessed when we hear from you.
In Christ’s Service, Judith Brumbaugh Founder/President
RestorationOfTheFamily.org; RestorationOfTheFamily@gmail.com; Restoration Of The Family, PO Box 621342, Oviedo, FL 32762-1342
